Master Of The Wind
by Masteroth
Summary: A mysterious journey is about to begin... but everything seems to be shrouded in riddles for Jack and Mr. Gibbs.... a true adventure is on the way! ALL TO BE THE MASTER OF THE WIND! Please R&R! Thank you.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Disney owns everything!!  
TEASER: A man tells a story... but what is going on??  
WARNING: PG13  
GENRE: Drama/Angst

MASTER OF THE WIND

CHAPTER I

"_In the silence of the darkness when all are fast asleep  
I live inside a dream calling to your spirit  
As a sail calls the wind, hear the angels sing_

Far beyond the sun across the western sky  
Reach into the blackness, find a silver line  
In a voice I whisper, a candle in the night  
We'll carry all our dreams in a single dream of light

Close your eyes, look into the dream  
Winds of change will winds of fortune bring

Fly away to a rainbow in the sky - gold is at the end for each of us to find  
There the road begins, where another one will end  
Here the four winds know who will break and who will bend  
All to be the master of the wind

Falling stars now light my way  
My life was written on the wind  
Clouds above, clouds below  
High ascend the dream within

When the wind fills the sky the clouds will move aside  
And there will be the road to all our dreams  
For any day that stings, two better days it brings  
Nothing is as bad as it seems

Close your eyes, look into the dream  
Winds of change will winds of fortune bring

Fly away to a rainbow in the sky - gold is at the end for each of us to find  
There the road begins, where another one will end  
Here the four winds know who will break and who will bend  
All to be the master of the wind"

The song recited itself inside of his mind, carrying the sweet tones of his mother's voice with it. He remembered. Remembered the warmth of her lap, her gentle hands, grey and rough from work, brushing his dark hair while she sang to him at night. Always the same song. THAT song. Ever since she died he had wondered why she never sang the normal lullabies that he heard from the other huts and houses as a child… Growing up in Tortuga he had never been an outsider. Like he felt he was now… no, back then there 

was no such thing as a label on the jam jar. Everyone and everything was in the same boat as everything else. No difference or judgment to be posed. But now… everything had changed. Tortuga had become ONE big brothel, both metaphorically and physically. His home from back then was no more than a memory. When he walked down the gangway from the ship onto the sandy, white beach of Tortuga, nothing was as he remembered it. The huts had deteriorated into nothingness… only long stretches of sandy meadows filled with heather and a few palm trees here and there were what was left of the home he remembered so clearly. And the houses… were still there. Some re-painted, some deteriorating, a few as they were back then. But not the people. No, the people were long gone and had been replaced by their ruthless spawn of drunken want-to-be pirates. A miserable bunch, really. Just as himself… maybe. At least he sometimes felt that way. He had no woman… no marriage… no children – and he didn't know if he even wanted any. The bottles of rum hidden below deck were his most trustful friends. Which was rather sad, when he thought about it. But who cared? No one. Not even himself. Maybe the grey-bearded, old man beside him… he had always been a father figure, he had to admit. From when he was twelve years old or so, approximately. When his mother had passed away from a bad case of tuberculosis. She had been taken away from him too early. Way too early. Where was he to go?? He remembered… and pictures flashed before his closed eyelids. The brothels… the bars… the dusty, sometimes muddy, streets of Tortuga town. Just wandering the shiny white beaches, thinking about his loss… his missing father…. And piracy. Every child in Tortuga had heard those stories. The pompous stories of the lives of pirates, the treasures, the excitement of the free life at sea. And one day he met him. The elderly man with back then a dark beard and dark hair, while he was wandering the beach as usual. At first he had been a little distrustful to him – that's what a rough childhood does to a person – and didn't believe any of his words. But nonetheless he and the older man started running into each other almost every day and in time they started spending time together under the shadows from the palm trees… and the old man would tell his tales. And slowly, but surely, he was convinced that this mysterious man was actually telling the bare truth. And he started admiring him… Not only because of the pirate stories, but because of his strong personality and the awareness and care in his steel blue eyes. Looking at him right now that same look was there. A look of concern, care and… was it love? He couldn't tell. But if it WAS love, it was definitely a paternal one. He managed to smile at his mentor… and drifted back into the thoughts from the far past. He had left the hut that morning… the morning where his mother wouldn't speak or even move. Yes, he had been scared. And he had never returned, only now to reflect on things. Life was unfair. But that is one of life's lessons in itself… he knew that very well. Still he got a bitter taste in his mouth every time he thought of that morning. But the crystal clear sound inside his mind of the lullaby sung by his mother, when she was alive, was all he needed to resurface from the sorrow and bitterness. With a smile he turned around to face the old man, his mentor. How he had changed… aged. Just like HE would some day. With sudden goose bumps on his arms he pushed the thought aside. What was the use of thinking of age, when he was only in his late twenties?? He actually didn't know his exact age… and he liked it that way. He didn't remember the summers and winters passed from when the old man took him aboard the ship with a promise of a great future in piracy. And indeed the old man had been right. The day today he was famous and infamous all over the Caribbean and in other parts of the world as well. He wasn't a very limited man, that was for sure. Grabbing the rum bottle and putting it to his lips, gulping down a few slurps of the golden liquid, he looked at his mentor again:

"What caught yer interest in me? Really?", he said and watched as the old man's eyebrows rose in surprise. With a smile the old man clapped him on the shoulder:

"I always knew ye had it in ye, Jack", Gibbs said as he again directed his glance at main street of Tortuga, on which they were walking. Dust spread every time their heavy leather boots hit the sandy gravel. Jack smiled and took another slurp of the rum. Oh, how he missed the old Tortuga… yet still he burst through the double doors of the nearest tavern with his arms raised and his glance on the baffled, drunken people in there. Always had to look out for himself… well, AND his crew. 'And a captain goes down with his ship', Jack thought as he emptied the rum bottle and sat down by the nearest table with Mr. Gibbs.

"Close your eyes, look into the dream….Winds of change will winds of fortune bring… All to be the master of the wind", Jack hummed as he waved at the bartender to bring him a drink. Mr. Gibbs shook his head with concern in his steel eyes:

"Why do ye keep singin' that song, Jack?", he asked and smiled as the bartender received the two silver coins from Jack when he put a bottle of rum on the table. Jack tilted his head a bit:

"Because I'm waiting for the winds to change", Jack replied shortly as he popped the cork.

PLEASE R&R – THANK YOU!

COPYRIGHT 2008


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Disney owns everything!!  
TEASER: Jack and Gibbs are at a tavern, where they are about to have an interesting encounter... but what is going on??  
WARNING: PG13  
GENRE: Drama/Angst/Adventure

MASTER OF THE WIND

CHAPTER II

Mr Gibbs merely shook his head at his captain's words… he had been singing that same song ever since he had met him that long time ago at the beaches of Tortuga.

"What do ye mean, Jack?", Gibbs asked and frowned as he looked Jack up and down in the smoke of the dusty, warm tavern.

"I think I know what he means", a voice suddenly said from behind Mr. Gibbs, who jumped a little in surprise. Jack looked up from his rum bottle and stared at the stranger, while Gibbs quickly turned around with his hand on the shaft of his cutlass by the belt. Before them stood a tall man covered almost completely in a brownish, dust spotted cloak. The dim light only showed a little of the man's stubby chin… the rest of his face couldn't be seen. 'What a gloomy fellow', Gibbs thought to himself, not removing his hand from his cutlass under the table.

"And what might that be, mate?", Jack asked as he nonchalantly took another slurp of the bottle, without removing his kohl-rimmed glance an inch from the tall man. People had a tendency to say stuff like that only in the hope of getting a few silver coins and a chance to have a one-on-one with the famous Captain… and Jack very well knew it. The stranger gestured towards a chair between Mr. Gibbs and Jack. Jack rolled his eyes a bit:

"Alright, have a seat", he said and also gestured towards the empty chair. Under the table Jack had his fingers ready on the pistol. Neither he nor Mr. Gibbs had a chance of knowing what this stranger was hiding under the cloak… in fact they couldn't even see his hands.

"But show yerself", Mr. Gibbs said – however the stranger slowly shook his hidden face:

"I don't think that is necessary… Besides it would be best for all of us. And I don't want to know any names", the stranger said in a deep, monotone voice. Jack's eyebrows shot up:

"Are ye sayin' ye don't know me name??", he asked flabbergasted and looked at Mr. Gibbs, who also was looking kind of surprised. The cloaked man slowly took out his hands and both Jack and Gibbs tensed up a little – but his hands were empty. Sitting himself down on the empty chair and putting his hands on the table, folding them, the strange man whispered:

"Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying. Now… There is a reason for all of this secrecy. I overheard your conversation from the table over there", the man said and nodded towards a table a few yards away, almost covered in the smoke from Cuban cigars and opium pipes. Jack didn't even turn his head:

"And ye want what?", he asked as he was tearing at the paper label on the rum bottle… how he hated those labels. A small laugh could be heard from under the cloak:

"Exactly the same as YOU want, if my ears aren't lying", he said and started drumming his fingertips on the mahogany table. Jack noticed how clean his nails were…

"And I want what, ye say?", Jack asked, starting to get a little intrigued by this weird fellow, who wouldn't show them his face OR even tell them his name. Silence fell for a few seconds.

"The winds to change", the strange man said and watched with a hidden smile how Jack's eyes grew wide. Blinking a few times Jack lowered his head a bit, trying to look up into the cloak – even though the man didn't move, all he could see was darkness. Giving up Jack sat back up straight and started drumming his fingers on the rum bottle, deep in thoughts. It could very well be a trick.

"And ye want the winds to change, why?", Jack asked, while the perplexed Mr. Gibbs was watching the conversation as a mysterious ping pong game. The stranger bowed his head a bit as if he was really studying the surface of the table. Then he started silently humming:

"Close your eyes, look into the dream - winds of change will winds of fortune bring… "

Jack's jaw seemed to drop a little and he just stared completely in disbelief at the cloaked man next to him:

"How do ye know that song?", he asked, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"Does it matter?", the man answered, and it wasn't posed as a question but as a simple statement. Something suddenly touched Jack's thigh, and he jumped clumsily on his wooden chair, sticking his hand in the direction of the sudden touch – he was ready to break the fingers of this man, but what his hand found wasn't fingers. It was a piece of paper. Jack grabbed it without hesitation and at the same second the man got up from his chair:

"All to be the master of the wind, Jack", the stranger whispered and turned around, leaving through the double doors right next to them. It all happened so fast that neither Jack nor Gibbs had the chance to follow him. And maybe they weren't meant to? Jack blinked a few times, staring at Mr. Gibbs:

"He DID know my name… forgot the captain part though", Jack mumbled almost incoherently…

"Jack, what was that all about?", Gibbs asked nervously and watched as Jack put the roll of paper on the table, shielding it with his dirty hands.

"Ask the cloak fellow", Jack said as he started unfolding the piece of paper carefully. It seemed old… wrinkled and discolored. With slow movements Jack finally managed to open the roll and his eyes grew wide:

"It's a map, Gibbs", Jack said and then wrinkled his forehead:

"But there's no destination… wait…", he mumbled as he stuck his face so close the paper, that his nose almost touched it. Some letters had been scribbled under the map and Jack squinted his eyes in order to be able to read it.

"What is it, Jack??", Gibbs asked, now curious. Jack shook his head slowly:

"It says… I think it says…", Jack mumbled as he looked closer. He then seemed to pale a little:

" '_When the black sails go where the wild rivers flow, where bodies are worth more than the gold you have sold – west of dreams of the past you will be the outcast – in the deepest of forests you will find the hymn never left behind – and gold will not mean anything anymore, because you will have found the core – which you to me under the beloved palm tree bring – all to be the master of the wind_'…", Jack whispered under his breath. Mr. Gibbs watched as Jack swallowed and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Frowning Gibbs tried to have a look at the wrinkled piece of paper, but quickly Jack rolled it back up and put it under his white cotton shirt. Grabbing the rum bottle almost feverishly Jack gulped down three big slurps, never raising his glance from the table plate.

"What does it mean, Jack?", Gibbs asked carefully. He had never seen his captain this way before. Jack took a deep breath:

"It means that I have to bring him something…", Jack mumbled, like he was far away in dreaming. His eyes seemed almost glazed over.

"Something shiny?", Gibbs asked confused, and Jack sighed:

"No, Mr. Gibbs… didn't ye listen? I don't know what it is I must bring him… or how… we have to decode the map… but it isn't something shiny, I can promise ye that", Jack said, still staring at the dirty table. Gibbs tilted his head a bit:

"Then why bother?", he asked under his breath, looking around to make sure that no one was listening.

"Because, Mr. Gibbs… Then I will be the master of the wind", was Jack's s answer. Gibb's eyebrows rose:

"Jack, ye don't honestly believe…", Mr. Gibbs started, but Jack immediately butted in:

"Yes, I do Gibbs… and ye're supposed to be the superstitious one", Jack said as he got up from the table.

"Where are ye goin'?", Gibbs asked as he got up as well. Jack looked around the smoky tavern…

"To the black sails of course", Jack said and wrinkled his nose:

"Besides we should get out of here before a fight breaks out and I might lose the map or something… and I need yer help decoding this… poem thing as fast as possible", Jack whispered as he walked out through the 

double doors. Per reflex Jack looked around as soon as he got outside the dirty tavern – but the cloaked man or other kind of suspicious persons weren't to be seen. Tortuga almost seemed to be asleep even though the time was only about five in the afternoon. The sun was burning brightly in the blue sky, but to the west a storm seemed to be brewing in dark clouds. 'Bugger', Jack thought as they reached the gangway to the Pearl. Quickly they were aboard and just as they reached the warmth and dry of the captain's quarters, it started raining. Flashes of lightning could be seen on the horizon far away, but they were quickly coming closer.

LIKED IT SO FAR?? PLEASE R&R! THANK YOU!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER III

'_When the black sails go where the wild rivers flow, where bodies are worth more than the gold you have sold – west of dreams of the past you will be the outcast – in the deepest of forests you will find the hymn never left behind – and gold will not mean anything anymore, because you will have found the core – which you to me under the beloved palm tree bring – all to be the master of the wind_'

Both Jack and Mr. Gibbs stared at the discolored map with the scribbling on it as they sat in the warmth of the captain's quarters by the table. Jack had of course already opened a new rum bottle. It usually made him think better – or at least, that was his best excuse. Outside the colored windows the rain was pouring down, trickling down the glass faster than the eye could see. Lightning bolts exploded into the water not very far away, but Jack didn't even notice the intense rumbling from the sky OR even the taste of the rum. Instead he was pondering – both about the mysterious text on the map and who that cloaked fellow might have been. Finally he gave up on figuring out the last part. He had to concentrate on the map…

"Gibbs, what do ye make of the first line??", Jack asked the grey bearded man sitting opposite to him in a quirky wooden chair. Gibbs scratched the back of his neck as he grimaced a little, deep in thoughts:

"I don't know, Jack… it's a little too cryptic for an old man like meself", Gibbs said and watched Jack as he merely nodded. Jack couldn't make anything of the first line either… wild rivers and bodies worth more than gold? What on earth was that supposed to mean?

"Bugger", Jack mumbled as his dirty index finger nail trailed down to the second line of the mysterious poem. The map showed Port Royal to the east, Tortuga to the west and then some islands further to the west…

"Wait…", Jack suddenly said, and Gibbs almost jumped in his chair:

"What is, Jack???", the old man said with curiosity painted all over his wrinkled face. Jack looked up at him with an eyebrow raised a bit:

"I think I just deciphered the second line…", he said and slurped down another mouthful of rum, quickly returned his gaze to the crumbled map:

"West of the dreams of the past, Gibbs", Jack said and thought about his usual day dreaming… Mr. Gibbs looked confused. Had Jack gone crazy? Staring at his captain, who was far away in thoughts, Gibbs couldn't help but notice the kind of dreamy look on Jack's tanned face.

"Jack?", Gibbs said carefully and simultaneously Jack snapped back to reality it seemed. He then looked at Gibbs with a smile:

"Remember where ye found me, Gibbs?", Jack merely asked and Gibbs nodded:

"Of course, Tortuga… OH!", Gibbs burst out – it finally dawned on him. Tortuga had been Jack's birth place and home for about nine years before meeting Gibbs and engaging in piracy… that was probably what was meant by the 'dreams of the past'….. Jack's dreams.

"We have to go west, Gibbs", Jack smiled and put his finger on the islands west of Tortuga on the map.

"Probably far west… to the last of the islands… have ye ever been there?", Jack asked and Gibbs shook his head:

"No, it is said to be completely deserted, Jack… what treasure could possibly be hidden where nobody has ever sat foot?", Gibbs asked and watched as Jack burst into laughter:

"Don't be foolish, Gibbs… what better place to hide something than a deserted island?", Jack asked and now Gibbs began smiling too. Jack was absolutely right. Then Jack trailed his finger down to the third line of the poem…

"_In the deepest of forests you will find the hymn never left behind"_, Jack mumbled and shook his head… he had no clue what this meant. And Gibbs certainly didn't either. How could one FIND a hymn?

"Well, at least we know there are forests", Jack said and tapped his fingers against his temple. Without even noticing he began humming while he was thinking… Gibbs' eyebrows immediately rose as he recognized the melody:

"Jack!", he burst out and his captain almost fell off the chair in shock.

"What??? What???", Jack burst out as he looked in every direction, his hand ready by the pistol in his belt.

"Easy", Gibbs said and smiled at Jack, who looked like one big question mark. Jack just looked at Gibbs, his eyes wide and awaiting an answer. Gibbs pointed at him:

"Ye just solved the riddle, Jack… what is it ye always sing?", Gibbs asked and watched in amusement how Jack's eyes grew even wider. He also seemed to pale a little, but none the less a smile appeared on his face:

"All to be the master of the wind….", Jack whispered under his breath. This was getting a bit creepy.

"Exactly. That be the hymn… I guess", Gibbs smiled and Jack nodded in agreement. This was very weird… so far they had to go to the island far west of Tortuga, where there would be forests and his hymn… how THAT was possible, Jack had no answer to. As Jack swallowed he trailed his finger down to the fourth line:

"Gold won't mean anything anymore, because ye will have found the core…. The core… what core?", Jack mumbled and Gibbs shook his head once more. None of them could decipher THAT one, so they quickly moved on to the fifth line:

"I have to bring whatever we find… this core thing… probably…. To him under the... beloved palm tree", Jack said and scratched the back of his dreadlocked head. Beloved palm tree?? But there were thousands and thousands of them! Both Gibbs and Jack shook their heads… this one they couldn't find an answer to either.

"We'll figure it out along the way, Jack", Gibbs said and smiled a bit. He wasn't so sure, but he had to believe in this, even though it was hard. And he had to back up his captain and help him in any way that he possibly could… even maybe by sugar coating things a bit. Now for the last line:

"All to be the master of the wind", Jack whispered in something that resembled awe… Gibbs looked a bit worried:

"What does that mean, Jack?", he asked, but Jack shook his head:

"I'm not sure… but it has to be something of great value… winds of change will winds of fortune bring…", Jack said as he looked up at the ceiling. He then starting singing softly:

"Gold is at the end for each of us to find  
There the road begins, where another one will end  
Here the four winds know who will break and who will bend  
All to be the master of the wind"

Gibbs just stared at his captain… he had been singing that song forever…. And Gibbs didn't like it.

"I think it bodes ill, Jack….", Gibbs said, but Jack merely looked at him and smiled:

"Gotta have a LITTLE excitement, Gibbs… besides I think… that it's some sort of test. When I am the master of the wind, I will either break or bend… so says the hymn… let's get going", Jack said and suddenly got up from the table.

"But Jack, the weather…", Gibbs started, but Jack interrupted him midsentence:

"I don't care. We sail now", Jack said as he opened the double doors to the deck. Immediately powerful gusts of wind hit him in the face along with ice cold drops of rain. In a few seconds Jack was completely drenched as well as Gibbs, who had followed him reluctantly. Jack quickly grabbed the wheel and howled across the deck:

"HOIST THE ANCHOR, SCALLYWAGS!!! SET SAILS!!! WE'RE HEADING WEST!!"

Immediately the crew men appeared through the hatch that led below deck, tired and heavy lidded from the sudden wake-up call. They scattered on the deck, each crew member manning his station and soon the anchor was up and the black, ragged sails were set for west. The strong winds tore violently in the sails, but Jack ignored it. It was actually in their favor, because the winds were blowing straight west… they would reach the western island within half a night. They would probably arrive approximately at five o'clock in the morning. The darkness surrounding them made it hard to navigate, but Jack was fearless. This was the adventure of a lifetime… and he couldn't wait to reach that island. Quickly the Pearl picked up the pace and they were headed straight for the island…


End file.
